DUNGENESS GLOSSY IBIS TUESDAY 11th JAN

Because the weather forecast is rubbish for the rest of the week I decided to get a quick visit to Dungeness in today. As I drove up the entrance track I noticed a couple of people in cars parked opposite the pools on the right. It turned out they were trying to find a Glossy Ibis of all things that had been spotted yesterday. We eventually found the bird in a poolside reedbed and had good but distant views for about two minutes before it suddenly decided to fly off towards the ARC pit. I had my camera with me but still in it's case and by the time i'd got it out and switched it on the Ibis was disappearing fast. I did manage to fire a couple of quick distant shots of very dubious quality, but at least it shows the salient points, downcurved beak, trailing legs etc.

While searching for the Ibis I spotted a Bittern flying past, the first of three seen today. I noticed the second one (below) standing on the edge of a reedbed on the far bank of the lake just outside the entrance to Scott hide. There were four people in the hide, who came out to have a look and one of them turned out to be Bo Beolens of Kent Birders forum and inventor of the 'Fatbirder Top 1000 Birding Websites' counter. Very nice to meet you Bo! The third Bittern seen flew across the front of Christmas Dell hide and landed in the reeds to the right.

Just opposite Christmas hide is a clump of tangled undergrowth and it was here that I found a Goldcrest and immediately afterwards a Firecrest. I stood there for ages in the biting wind waiting for an opportunity to record the sighting and eventually got my chance when it emerged again for about a couple of seconds, just long enough for the record shot below. This is only my third sighting of these little birds, I hope i've got the ID right!

Other species seen today included about half a dozen Marsh Harriers across the site and a Kestrel opposite Boulderwall Farm. A Black-necked Grebe and Red-head Smew, seen from the comfort of the visitor centre. A Goosander which flew in front of Makepeace hide and landed in front of Scott hide. At least six Pintails and a couple of Cetti's Warblers. Oh, nearly forget, about a hundred thousand Wigeon, well a couple of thousand probably, but it seemed like a lot more!

In all 44 species, it probably would have been more if i'd had time to visit the ARC site. But all things considered I think Dungeness RSPB came up trumps again.

New Hythe Tuesday 30th November

Like most people I woke up to a layer of snow this morning, not much, but enough to make it feel more like mid winter than early winter.

I hadn't planned to go out today but with it being the last day of November, and the possibility of a Goosander at Brooklands, how could I resist a quick visit? As yesterday I left the car in the drive and walked across the country park saying good morning to the Goldeneye on Alders Trout lake as I went past and also noting a couple of Gt Crested Grebes on the big lake, so maybe there are a few tiddlers still in there after all.

I made my way quickly down the Millstream path, passing the conservation lake and the round pond on the way, both of which are now frozen, much to the disgust of the young Mute Swan pictured above. A mixed flock of small birds caught my attention down the Millstream and I watched for a few minutes and was pleased to see a couple of Chiffchaffs among them. These are the first overwintering Chiffies i've seen here so far this year and their welcome presence takes my November New Hythe list to 57. I didn't expect that!

I stopped at the cafe at Brooklands and bought a cup of coffee and had a quick chat with Jerry Warne who was in the car park. He hadn't seen the Goosander, and if he couldn't find it I was pretty sure it wasn't there, which turned out to be the case. But never mind, the smart little Slavonian Grebe was still there and although the light was rubbish as usual I decided to try for some more pics of it. This meant getting closer to it, which isn't easy. I thought about smearing dirt over my face, sticking twigs and grass out of my hat and coat and crawling on my stomach through the mud and snow to the water's edge. But in the end I decided to wait behind the tree until it came past like I did last time, well, i'm not getting any younger and I also heeded Greenie's warning that I might get arrested one of these days for sneaking around down there. Anyway, it worked out OK, I got some pics and the bird never even knew it had been snapped. I know you're probably fed up with my pictures of it but brace yourself, because if we ever get a bright day I might try for some more!

Before heading back I had a quick look at the river from the small wood. Apart from the usual species here, I could see a Sandpiper on a mud bank further downstream, but due to the distance and the reeds obstructing my view I was unable to tell whether it was a Common or Green, so the monthly total will have to stay at 57. Other bits seen on the way back were two Snipe flying towards the river, at least thirteen Gt Crested Grebes on an otherwise disappointing Abbey Mead. About a dozen Teal on the Railway lake unusually, although I remember seeing some on there about this time last year, and a small flock of Siskins in the Alder trees next to the the divers' car park.

Stodmarsh 18th March

Carol had a free day today so I took her to Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve, I know how to treat a lady. The reserve lies just outside Canterbury and is home to large reedbeds and open marshland.

We parked in the car park at the Stodmarsh village end of the reserve and began our walk alongside the river, this is the tidal section of the Great Stour which is why I was surprised to hear the "plop" of frogs jumping into the river as we walked down as I didn't think they would be found in brackish water. The one pictured below was on the path and I think it's a Marsh Frog, these are an alien species that were first introduced in the Walland Marsh area of Kent in the 1930's and have thrived ever since, they are also tolerant of brackish water which explains why they were in the river.

MARSH FROG

The first notable bird sighting was of a very vocal and very showy Cetti's Warbler, one of many heard on the way round the 5km route. I believe Stodmarsh was the first recorded breeding site in the UK for Cetti's Warblers so starting with one is nicely appropriate. Marsh Harriers were also in abundance in this area with at least six being counted in the air at one time including a couple of superb males whose plumage was shown at it's best in the short lived morning sun. A female Bullfinch graced us with her presence next but her partner, although calling nearby kept his good looks to himself.

Lunch was taken at the viewing ramp in what was now a fairly cool south westerly breeze but it was worth the slight discomfort to sit and listen to a Skylark pouring out it's liquid, warbling song above the paddock next door. This instantly and will always transport me back to sunny childhood days on the North Downs chasing rabbits and searching for Slowworms and Grass Snakes.

The David Feast hide was a disappointment all that was in attendance were two Tufties a Gt Crested Grebe, a couple of Coots and a Swan with a dirty neck who had obviously been having a good feed in the shallow muddy water. You'll hopefully forgive my indulgence, I just can't resist a few more pictures of this most photogenic bird.

GREAT CRESTED GREBE

On the way to the Marsh Hide we passed the resident Konic ponies which are a semi wild breed originating from Poland and are used to help keep down areas of scrubland and to improve habitat for some of the wader species. I just couldn't resist giving this youngster his very own name..........................

HARRY KONIC JNR

From the Marsh hide we saw Little Egret pictured below, Lapwings and Meadow Pipits as well as another couple of Marsh Harriers, unfortunately we missed the Bittern which some people had seen from here earlier

The last part of the walk was pretty quiet and by now the overcast skies and strong wind were making conditions slightly uncomfortable, we heard some Bearded Tits pinging in the distance and a couple of times we saw what we thought were these birds disappearing into the reeds but we couldn't be sure. What we were sure of was the three or four Wrens chasing each other around and singing fit to burst their tiny lungs in the nature reserve area approaching the car park. They finished the walk off nicely for us and this one can finish the post off nicely as well.

WREN

New Hythe 1st March

Frustratingly I only had a couple of hours this morning but I managed to make the most of them though. The first thing I noticed after parking the car was that there was a new "lake" adjacent to Brooklands car park. This has been caused by the Millstream bursting it's bank and overflowing into the sunken area next to the railway line. I've never seen this happen before so that's a measure of the amount of rain that's fallen recently.


I caught up with Alan Roman alongside the mound and as we turned left along the Northern edge of Abbey Mead lake I noticed a dark shape among the reeds at the waters edge, a quick look through my bins confirmed it as a Bittern, as you can see in the pictures below it was grasping a clump of reeds about halfway up the stems and pointing it's beak skywards in classic Bittern pose.

The river was the colour of strong tea and was running downstream fast although the tide should have been coming in, I think maybe this had something to do with the amount of floodwater the river was carrying. Not much to see here but as we stood in the warm sunshine this Swan paid us a visit, so naturally I had to take it's photograph, they are just so photogenic.

There were actually a pair of Mallards swimming on the East Scrub (flood) today, it's looking more like a wader scrape every day now. There was at least one, possibly two Kingfishers calling loudly in the corner of Streamside as we passed by but I was unable to see them, no sign of the Bittern there either but I suppose two in one day is a lot to ask for at New Hythe, although by no means out of the question.

FEMALE TUFTED DUCK

I had to get back for an appointment so I left Alan and walked down the flooded Millstream to get back to the car park but just before I did I found a Chiffchaff in a small tree by the lakeside, not great views but that was the third Chiffchaff sighting I had heard about around the site that morning which was good to hear.

MALE TUFTED DUCK

Just before the end of the Millstream there's an overhanging tree and the lower branches touch the water and catch all the twigs and rubbish that gets washed downstream, this has formed a sort of raft and on it was this little chap. First one i've seen for a long time! I couldn't decide which picture to use so I used them both. You can't have too many Water Voles can you?

New Hythe Lakes 25th February

It was a balmy 8 degrees centigrade when I arrived at Brooklands this morning, and it wasn't raining, luxury! It was more hope than expectation that drove me out today, hope that the sun might come out and give me a chance to take a few pictures, hope that something unusual might have arrived and hope that the air would be filled with the songs of a thousand birds heralding the long awaited arrival of spring. Well the sun didn't come out and nothing unusual had arrived, not that I found at any rate, but it was nice to hear the odd burst of song from a Chaffinch, and the pleasant warble of Dunnocks from the tops of bushes and a song thrush singing it's repeated phrases from the top branch of a small tree.



The footpath round the sunken marsh is a quagmire, there is no choice but to keep your eyes down to watch your feet instead of up to watch the birds, although I did find a couple of Redshank and six Gadwall on the river which was just beginning to ebb from high tide.

Brooklands and Abbey Mead lakes were strangely quiet, the odd small group of Tufties and Pochards, with one or two Little and Gt Crested Grebes, even the Coots seemed few and far between. There were several Bullfinches in the SW corner of the sunken marsh and while I watched them I heard a strange call from the dense undergrowth where the path turns sharply at the bottom of the mound, I stood and listened and heard the same growling type call about five times, I don't know what it was, possibly a Water Rail, but it didn't seem right for that, stop and listen if you're passing, just in case.

I crossed the East Scrub or more accurately the East Flood, and noticed a four wheel drive truck and a bunch of people carrying large black plastic bags milling about near the SE corner, could they be clearing the rubbish from the Water Vole stream where the new fence has been erected?

A quick chat with a chap who looked to be in charge confirmed that this was the case and that it was being done because of the detrimental effect it might have on the Water Voles. I like to think that my chat to the Council last year about this unacceptable mess might have helped a little.

The West Scrub held good numbers of Redwings and Chaffinches, I also saw an obliging Cetti's Warbler, a Kestrel and a flock of at least 10 Greenfinches. A Sparrowhawk over Streamside lake and a Kingfisher zipping down the Millstream contributed to the 41 species that I saw in just over two hours.




And finally....................I found this splendid fungus close to Brooklands lake, any ideas anybody??